Ralph Lauren and Jamiroquai’s Jay Kay are among the first names on the order book for the new F1 simulator launched yesterday by Ferrari here in Monza.

The simulator is essentially the same as the one I drove at Spa(above), which Shell had purchased from Ferrari’s supplier All in Sport, which is run by former Ferrari and Red Bull electronics guru Anton Stipinovitch.

I posted on it at length during the Spa weekend. It’s a great tool, with stunning graphics and gives a real sense of how the tyres work and how the downforce comes in at speed and bleeds off under braking.

Essentially this is the same device as Shell will be touring the world with for fans and guests to use and as the sim used by the Ferrari Driver Academy. In other words it is a training device, rather than a full sim on which you can try out the latest aero developments. It has the F1 ECU and a real Ferrari monocoque, steering wheel and pedals, but it does not have the full electric rams, rather it has mini actuators which give a sense of movement and G force, but not the full experience. The benefit of that is that it’s less tiring than the real thing, so obsessives can drive it all day without their neck giving up.

There is a catch, however. To be able to buy one of these you must already be a Ferrari owner….

For those with a more modest budget, how about the Codemasters Ferrari replica Steering wheel, also launched yesterday? A snip at €199, which can be used on all game platforms.

* One final note – Ferrari engineer Rob Smedley’s F1 charity auction last week in aid of Zoe’s Place children’s hospice in Middlesborough, raised £50,000. Thanks to the JA on F1 readers who bid for the fantastic auction lots.

I have an idea James. You could run a competition on this website and the lucky winner gets a Ferrari and a Simulator. I’m a busy man but I will throw my hat in the ring to judge the competition for you mate;)

Not really, the Thrustmaster (not CODEmasterS) Ferrari wheel is modestly priced compared to Logitech’s G25/G27, which itself is a bargain compared to the Fanatec wheels, which seem positively affordable next to Thrustmaster’s GT500 and well at that point you sort of run out of mass-marketed and well-distributed options but I’ve been told there’s a whole pro-sim niche out there where nobody bats an eyelid at wheels costing as much as an entire used Mazda Miata.

Put a bid for Fernando’s gloves on 900gbp… some lucky b… got it for 950! Im still recovering from the blow… Those were the ones he used to win Monza last year, with me in the first chicane shaking of emotion…
Ah well, get over it, at least I raised the bid quite a lot for a very good cause!